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Nine aspiring chefs with a craving for culinary excellence put their kitchen skills to the test as they competed for tuition scholarships on Saturday, March 8, at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California—Silicon Valley, a campus of Argosy University. At the end of the day, two stood triumphant.

Richelle Periandri from Branham High School, San Jose, CA 95124 took a gold medal and first place and Nash Palafox took a silver medal and second in The Art Institutes Best Teen Chef Competition for high school seniors.

During the cook-off competition, the finalists were asked to showcase their talent and skill by preparing and serving a two-course meal in just two hours. The meal consisted of an appetizer of Shrimp Cocktail and an entrée of Sautéed Chicken Breast with Creative Garnish, Rice Pilaf and Broccoli Sauté.

Competitors were judged on five technical skills including knife skills, safety, sanitation, organization, cooking techniques, and clean-up, and five qualities of the finished dishes – temperature, taste, texture, portion size and presentation.

Periandri was awarded a $4,000 tuition scholarship and Palafox a $1,000 tuition scholarship to The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California—Silicon Valley. In addition, Periandri will move on to be considered for a Chopped-style cooking competition in New York in April. The winner of that competition will receive a $40,000 tuition scholarship.

Winners’ Quotes:

Richelle Periandri: “In the future I hope to own my own bakery. My favorite thing to prepare [is] cupcakes because there are so many endless ideas that I can experiment with.”

Nash Palafox: “When I was put into foster care, I had to learn to cook for myself. This is when I realized I had a true passion for cooking and eventually started to take over cooking at home and also cooked during holiday meals.”

Cook-off competitions were held at all participating International Culinary Schools at The Art Institutes locations across the U.S. and Canada in March. In addition to earning their scholarship awards, all local Best Teen Chef first place winners will have the opportunity to win a trip to New York City for a very special food experience.

For more information, visit www.artinstitutes.edu/culinary or contact The Art Institute of California—Silicon Valley at 408-962-6400.